


A Life She Never Had

by soer



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-08
Updated: 2013-12-08
Packaged: 2018-01-04 03:03:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1075772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soer/pseuds/soer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She was the girl with a reputation, a delinquent of sorts, but also smart. He was an honor student with straight As but struggling in only one subject. They had never interacted before now, but as the days go on, they find themselves slowly getting along with each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Life She Never Had

**Author's Note:**

> Peter and Wendy are in cursed!Storybrooke. Was supposed to be part one part two before and after the curse but I just ended up making it one long thing, sorry for that. [Characters are - Wendy/Rylee, Peter/Kyle, Felix/Duke, Tinker Bell/Fawn]
> 
> [Amazing fanart from my wonderful friend!](http://warmbluelights.tumblr.com/post/81220148541/part-2-of-the-extremely-late-xmas-presents)

“So as you can see here…” Rylee tries to keep the impatience out of her voice as she explains the material to the boy sitting across from her. They are at Granny’s Dinner because she wanted to have snacks available when she was tutoring the kid. “Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Kyle says after a moment, staring at the paper with her marks all over the page.

Rylee can’t help but roll her eyes, even though she had been trying to be nice. “Honestly, history isn’t difficult. It’s just memorization. How are you falling behind on that?”

The boy’s face flushes in embarrassment but he answers her anyway, because he’s just _nice_ like that. “I just find it boring,” he admitted to her quietly. “I’m good with the other subjects, but history is just _boring_.”

Rylee rolled her eyes. “If you think about it that way you’ll never be able to move past this.” She sipped her vanilla milkshake. “I memorize this by separating the time periods and then marking out the events that most fascinate me. Mr. Terry’s exams are mostly made up of history essays aren’t they, Kyle? Well, he always likes extra information, so you can always use that as a backup if you can’t remember any other events. He likes to know we’re learning.” She bit into a French fry, enjoying the salt on her tongue.

The blond frowned. “I’ll try it, I guess…”

Rylee glared at him. “If you don’t have any method of your own to study by, then keep my advice in mind. If you do it right, you’ll have some extra points. So far, you have a C in the class, and if your next exam doesn’t show an improvement, Mr. Terry is going to crack down on _me_ , got it?”

He nodded but was saved from answering when her phone went off and she snapped it up like a lifeline.

“Rylee speaking.” The girl’s face split into a wide smile. “Hey babe. No, I’m still tutoring Grayson. I know, but I’ve still got,” Rylee glanced at the watch on her wrist, “like ten minutes left. I _can’t_. It’s just ten minutes. Wait for me? Great. See you soon.” Rylee put her phone away and turned her attention back to Kyle who was studying the paper and adding some markings of his own.

“Is there anything else you don’t understand?”

Kyle shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Okay, then summarize what I’ve just told you this past hour.”

Dutifully he recounted the details she discussed with him earlier while she corrected the things that he got wrong.

“That’s good enough. Be sure to read the textbook chapters at least twice tonight. You want to get a decent score on the quiz, don’t you?” Rylee said, beginning to pack up her bag. “Time's up. See you in class.” Grabbing her milkshake the girl breezed out of the diner, the bell above the door twinkling on her way out. The boy didn’t leave his seat, instead doing as she had instructed him and opened his textbook. He passed another hour at Granny’s studying the chapters and scribbling down notes.

Rylee spotted Joseph leaning against the pole by the shop beside Blake and Jason and her smile widens as she rushes over to him, running right into his arms.

“Hey babe,” he says as she kisses him with enthusiasm. “How did tutoring go?”

Rylee rolled her eyes. “He’s not stupid, if that’s what you’re asking. Just slow.”

Joseph sighed. “Don’t blame me. I don’t like it when other boys monopolize my girl’s time.”

She punched his arm. “It’s not my fault that _you_ always make me late to history class,” she told him, annoyed. “If you didn’t constantly dawdle on the way to school, I wouldn’t get called out by the teacher.”

He made a face at her. “Oh come on, it’s not like you’ve been ditching, even though I’ve practically asked you to, dozens of times.”

Rylee opened her mouth to retort back but Blake’s irritated voice cut her off. “Are you two just gonna chit-chat all day or are we going to the job?”

Rylee grinned and pulled herself out of her boyfriend’s arms. “That’s right, we planned one today didn’t we?”

Blake nodded. “Fawn and Cordelia are already in position.”

“It’d be terrible to keep the girls waiting. Come on boys.”

-

Rylee went home that day with a bright smile and a dozen of candy bars in her bag. It had been so easy to sneak the items out of the store unnoticed that she would have laughed after getting out, but Rylee was nothing if not careful.

Her aunt had not been pleased to find her young niece stealing yet again, but the woman could do nothing to curb the child’s behavior. Anything close to discipline provoked Rylee to be even more of a rebel and eventually they had a sort of agreement in place. Rylee was free to do whatever she wanted as long as she kept her grades up. And though she was a delinquent, Rylee had excellent grades. In either case, the aunt lost the case and tried to look the other way whenever the teenager was misbehaving. Rylee was too wild to be caged and any attempt to do so turned her into a force to be reckoned with.

She also hadn’t been happy to hear about Rylee’s relationship with Joseph Bush, the school’s resident delinquent, on record for having more suspensions for misbehavior than any other teen, but Rylee didn’t listen to her advice about the boy either. She was too stubborn and opinionated for that.

“Hey Fawn, when do you want to go for another round?” Rylee asked over the phone, twirling a lollipop in her mouth.

“Not until I see something good in the store,” her best friend relied from the other end of the phone. “How did tutoring go anyway? With Grayson right?”

Rylee laughed. “It was alright. He’s not such a bad guy. Did you know that History is the only class he’s moderately failing? He has high marks in every other class, apparently.”

Fawn whistled. “Why’d Mr. Terry go off and ask you to tutor him if he was so smart?”

Rylee rolled her eyes. “Ugh, it was combination of my frequent tardiness and being rude to Austen, that ridiculous smart-aleck, one time too many. But he deserved it!”

“Don’t let Joseph catch you talking about other guys. He can be a bit possessive at times,” Fawn warned.

“I know. It’s rather annoying. I’m not his property. I’m my own person.”

“You said it sister. Go on about Grayson. It’s your second day tutoring him right? How long do you have to keep at it?”

“Just until he’s made a remarkable improvement in his grades and can do well on his own,” Rylee replied. “He’s actually quite a fast learner, Fawn. It’s just that he finds history dull. Really, if he could bother to make himself remember the information he would have no trouble at all.”

She could practically imagine her friend rolling her eyes to hear her words. “Rylee, only _you_ would not find history dull. I think Grayson has the right idea. Honestly though, I don’t get you sometimes. You’re one of the wildest girls I know, and yet you have unbelievably perfect grades.”

Rylee laughed. “I just like learning, Fawn. You know that.”

“I’ll say.”

The two girls chatted for a while longer before heading off to bed.

-

Four days later, Rylee found herself in an argument with Joseph in the back of the school’s parking lot.

“Don’t be an ass Joseph!” Rylee shouted angrily at her boyfriend, their friends standing at a guarded distance away, knowing better than to interfere in the fight. “You know I hate it when you do things like that!”

“I don’t know why you’re so angry,” Joseph said lazily. “I was only joking.”

“I’ve told you before, I’m _not_ just an accessory to hang around your arm to show off or do your bidding!” she spat, eyes blazing with fury.

“Rylee, please. You’re overreacting and making a scene.” He said, trying to appease and quiet her.

“Oh yeah? Well this is the third time you’ve cheated on me.” She countered, with hands on her hips, not caring at all who was around. She was too angry with the other.

“Is that really my fault? We hardly do anything but kiss!” He said with exasperation, defending himself.

“I am _not_ running the risk of getting pregnant as a teenager, Joseph! It’s easy for you because _you’re_ just a _boy_ but it’s different for me. If you really just want to fool around, then why don’t we just break up and be done with this and you can get off with all the girls you’ve been chasing behind my back?”

His hand moved before he could think and the crack of skin on skin was awful to hear.

“Rylee, I’m sorry,” Joseph said stepping forward but she moved away from him.

“Don’t. Touch. Me.” She told him in a cold voice, hardened steel in her eyes. “We are _done_ , Bush.”

“Rylee-”

“ _Don’t_ ,” she hissed. “I’ll have nothing to do with you until you grovel at my feet with apologies and prove your own worth ten times over. Touch me again and I _promise_ you that you’ll wish you _never_ had.”

She walked away from him with a toss of her head, chin held high, not caring for the few bystanders nearby or the bruise that was slowly blossoming on her cheek. All she thought was that she needed to start bringing her penknife to school again.

-

“Are you alright?” Kyle couldn’t help but ask when Rylee finally arrived at the diner and slid into the seat across from him.

“I’m fine,” Rylee said. “It just stings.” She looked around and called Ruby over when she spotted the waitress. “Ruby, can you be doll and get me some ice?”

The waitress winced to see the mark on Rylee’s face and handed a bag of ice cubes to the girl. “Rylee, what happened? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, thank you.” Rylee said, holding the bag to her purple cheek. “Sorry Ruby, but I don’t want to talk about it just now.”

“Let me get you some pie then. It’s fresh from the oven. On the house, since you two have been so well-behaved and studious in the past couple of days.”

“Thank you, that would be wonderful,” Rylee replied and turned her attention to Kyle as Ruby walked away. “So, what did you get done while you were waiting for me?” she asked, shrugging off her coat and laying it on the seat beside her. “And what did you get on your essay? Please tell me you improved. I could really do with a bit of good news right now.”

Kyle wanted to ask her more about her injury, but he, along with the other kids in school, knew better than to push farther than necessary with Rylee Pritchard. She was the brains behind all of her group’s schemes, and everyone knew it. She wasn’t a bully, exactly, but did whatever she wanted whenever she wanted and if you got in her way, she would make you pay dearly for that mistake. He decided to play it safe and answer her questions instead. “Before you came along I was just reviewing my notes. As for my essay…” he grinned and handed the paper to her. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”

She took it and smiled brightly when she saw the score. “You got an A! That’s brilliant, Kyle,” she said, beaming at him, genuinely happy on his behalf, and he flushed slightly with embarrassment.

“Here’s the pie,” Ruby said, setting down the slices of pastry before the two. “Enjoy!”

“See, I told you it would be easy once you applied yourself,” Rylee told him while she scooped up the dessert. “And I see you added some extra information on the Scottish and made it back up your thesis,” Rylee added as she scanned the paper. “You can tell by the comments that Mr. Terry was quite impressed with that.”

Kyle nodded, contently eating slice of pie with relish. “I have you to thank for that actually. I didn’t think your method would work, because it sounds rather tedious, and I’ve already got enough on my plate, but it was easier for me to research things that I found interesting. I got extra points just like you said I would.”

Rylee smirked at him. “I’m always right. If you listen to my advice, you’re bound to score a good grade. Fawn always begs me to help her study right before finals and passes with a B every time, even though I tell her could easily pass with an A if she actually put some effort into her work.”

“It’s actually surprising to know your GPA, considering your reputation for being a delinquent of sorts at school,” Kyle commented. “You’re really smart, and if you wanted to you could easily ace all your classes.”

Rylee snorted and took a sip of her milkshake that Ruby had brought over to them some time ago. “Shows how much you know, Grayson. I’ll have you know that I, in fact, _do_ ace all of my classes. It’s only in history that I have trouble getting to class on time, but that’s not going to be an issue anymore.” She scooped up more pie and shifted the bag that on her face. “Contrary to popular belief, I actually like learning and I take education quite seriously.”

Kyle shrugged. “I can’t disagree with that. You’re practically ranked number one in school and I doubt you could do that through cheating.”

“Why thank you,” she said, accepting the compliment. “That’s very sweet of you.” Having finished the pie, she pushed the plate off to the side where it wouldn’t get in the way of their work. “Now, I think we should work on creating a timeline of the presidents and the events that happened during their presidency.”

They immersed themselves in their studies for a good two hours, hardly noticing when the sky grew darker than usual.

“Okay, I think we’ve come to a good place to stop,” Rylee remarked and began to put away her materials.

“Yeah. Thanks for the help,” Kyle told her as he packed his bag.

“It’s no problem. You’re a fast learner, and it makes it easier for the both of us.” Rylee said, standing up. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school then.”

“Wait,” he said, and she looked back at him curiously. “Let me walk you home. It’s dark out, and it’s the least I can do for you after all the times you’ve helped me.”

She studied him carefully, searching his face with scrutiny, but didn’t see anything but open honesty in his expression.

“Okay,” she agreed. “You can walk me home.”

So Kyle walked Rylee home while engaging in casual conversation along the way. He dropped her off at the front of her home before heading off towards his own house. Entering the building, Rylee was surprised to see Fawn curled up on the sofa of the living room, jumping up when she saw Rylee step through the doorway at last.

“Rylee, are you alright?” Fawn said, taking her shoulders and turning Rylee this way and that, inspecting her worriedly. “I thought you would be home ages ago, but you never showed, and I was just about to go out and look for you.”

“Relax, Fawn. I’m fine. I was just at Granny’s tutoring Grayson. We stayed out longer than usual, I admit, and he walked me home just now. No reason to be worried, but I appreciate the gesture.”

“If you’re sure…” Fawn said and let her arms return to her side. “Listen, about earlier today…”

Rylee didn’t want to let go of her good mood, but felt it begin to slip away once Fawn mentioned the event. “What about it?” She asked, annoyed and made her way to her bedroom, Fawn trailing after her.

“Oh, I just wanted to remind you that me, Cordelia, Blake, and Jason have got your back. Any heist you want to do, we’re up for it. Joseph is an asshole for what he did to you.” Fawn stated matter-of-factly, plopping down on top of Rylee’s bed.

That hadn’t been what she had been expecting, but Rylee felt foolish for thinking Fawn would say otherwise. She grinned and felt her mood improve from its earlier dip. “Thanks Fawn. You’re the best,” she told her honestly, taking a seat beside the other.

The blonde grinned at her. “Now, give me the scoop. What happened to make Kyle _Grayson_ walk you home, hmmm?”

Rylee laughed. “It’s nothing that dramatic, Fawn. It was just because we’ve never stayed out this late before. In his own words, it’s the least he could do for all the times he helped me. So he walked me home. But I’ll tell you one thing. He’s more of a gentleman than Bush has ever been.”

Fawn’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Oh? Is that so?”

Rylee hit her best friend’s arm playfully. “Oh stop it, Potts. I’m just stating facts. If you’re asking me if I’m considering _dating_ him or something equally as ridiculous as _that_ , you’re wrong. Grayson just isn’t my type, and he _certainly_ doesn’t hang out with our kind of crowd. We would ruin him.” She eyed Fawn curiously. “Besides, I thought you already knew this, what with the rivalry you have going on with Travis. I only know that he’s best friends with Grayson because you told me repeatedly eight times when I first told you I had to tutor him.”

Fawn threw her hands up into the air. “Rylee! I’ve told you dozens of times not to bring up Travis! And I do _not_ have a rivalry with him!”

Rylee laughed. “Oh, don’t deny it Fawn! You’ve always been bitter that that he’s exactly almost _always_ two steps ahead of you in every single class you’ve been in together. Even though I’ve told you with some studying you could _easily_ surpass him, but do you listen? Nooo.”

Fawn crossed her arms across her chest and huffed. “I can beat him by myself, thank you very much.”

Rylee smirked but decided to put away the topic for now. “How did your day go? And do you know when your next ice skating competition is?”

Fawn’s mood changed instantly, in the way it did when her favorite hobby was mentioned. “Coach just emailed to say the date’s set one month from now! I can’t start practicing until I pick a partner and we figure out a routine, but I think everything will be settled tomorrow.” Fawn’s expression turned guilty. “I might not be able to hang out with you for a while since I’ll be at practice so much.”

Rylee waved the concern away. “It’s no problem. Since I have no plans to hang out with Bush anytime soon, I’ll cheer for you during practice and bring the gang along too.”

Fawn laughed. “Only if you get out of tutoring Grayson first! It shouldn’t take long if he’s such a fast learner like you say he is.”

“I’ll be there and I’ll bring the whole gang,” Rylee promised in reassurance.

-

She saw relative peace in the next couple of days, splitting her time between tutoring Kyle and watching Fawn at practice. But eventually, she craved the thrill of taking just because she could and relishing in the fact that she was quick enough to not get caught. Rylee tapped the pencil against her cheek as she walked down the street. Should she call the others? No, there was no need. There was a bigger job coming up on Saturday, and the thing she craved didn’t need a lot of people. She could finish it up herself.

Or that was what she thought, but she must have been more distracted than she thought, because the shop owner caught onto her faster than she would’ve liked. Rylee bolted out the door and ran down the streets, glad for the navy-blue denim jacket she wore that helped her blend into the darkness of the streets. Looking back, she slowed down to a stop once she saw that the owner was longer behind her. But she knew that he had most likely called the sheriff to go after her, so she stopped and quickly secured the stolen item in the hidden pocket of her bag and then continued her walk down the street.

Sure enough, a white car passed her and parked by the sidewalk. The Sheriff got out of the car and stood before her with his hands on his hips.

“Good evening, Sheriff Graham.” Rylee politely said, coming to a stop in front of him.

“Good evening Miss Rylee.”

“Is there anything I can do for you Sheriff?”

“Well, I received a call saying that you, young lady, stole something from Mr. Perry. Is that true?”

“No Sherriff,” Rylee responded without missing a beat. “I was just on my way to Granny’s to get some dinner. My aunt has been busy with work and told me to order out, but I’ve been craving apple pie so I decided to grab some at the diner.”

“Just to be safe, you don’t mind me inspecting your bag now, do you?” he asked with a raised brow.

“Not at all,” she responded and handed it over for him to inspect.

He handed it back to her after a moment. “All clear. I guess he was just mistaken. Sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s no problem,” Rylee responded. “It happens to everyone.”

“Listen, why I don’t I give you a lift to Granny’s and when you’re done you can call your aunt to pick you up.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, sure. It’s no problem. Get in.”

So Rylee climbed into the car and he drove her over to Granny’s which was only a couple of blocks away. “So what have you been up to lately, Rylee? I see you’ve been staying out of trouble… Well I thought you were until I got called earlier. Ah, Ruby mentioned you were doing some kind of tutoring?”

“Yeah, I’ve been helping out my classmate Kyle with history. We like studying at Granny’s after school, which is probably why you’ve heard about it from Ruby.”

The car pulled to a stop beside the curb outside of the diner and Rylee got out of the car. “Thank you Sheriff Graham!”

“Stay out of trouble Rylee,” Graham replied before driving away down the street.

As soon as he was gone, a wide smile appeared on Rylee’s face. She was still triumphant. The appetizing smell emerging from the diner drifted out the door and Rylee decided that she could afford going to dinner at the diner even though it had just been an excuse. She stepped inside and sat down at a booth.

-

Somehow, Rylee found herself getting closer to Kyle and was able to converse with him about topics other than homework. She had also managed to successfully steal some personal items from Joseph Bush without his knowledge. It was some days afterward that Joseph chased after her and she let him, eventually forgiving him as he swore to improve his behavior.

“Wait, so he was being an ass to you and you got back together with him?” Kyle asked with a raised eyebrow one afternoon. “Does this happen often?”

“Watch it Grayson,” she warned with narrow eyes, but her tone of voice wasn’t as harsh as it could be. “We’re not the most perfect of couples, but I daresay I’m allowed to give him a second chance.” She twirled a keychain around her index finger. “And besides, I’ve already got a piece of my revenge, and he did what I asked, so I don’t really see the harm in forgiving him. I… well, I suppose it’s silly, but I missed him.”

She studied Kyle curiously. “Have you ever dated a girl, Kyle? I mean, you’re not that bad-looking and being smart, I’m sure you could catch the eye of any girl if you tried.”

“I’ve never been interested. I’ve been too focused on getting into a good school so I can get out of this town and see more of the world.” Kyle told with some disinterest.

This was news to Rylee. “You want to leave then?”

“What I want is _adventure_ , and I can’t get it here.”

She smirked at his words. “I never thought I’d hear those words come out of such a serious boy like you.”

He shrugged. “Well, hanging around a delinquent will do that to you.”

-

She ran into Henry Mills walking with a blonde woman she hadn’t seen before a couple days later. Rylee was surprised to find out that this Emma Swan was Henry’s birth mother, and that due to unforeseen circumstances, had replaced Graham Humbert as the new sheriff in town. The teenager felt sad that she would no longer be able to see the old sheriff again, but already, her mind was already thinking of how to get past this woman in her heists. She was new, so it would be easy, especially after she had established herself as Henry’s very nice and kind friend.

-

“Fawn, it’s alright, it will be okay.” Rylee said, rubbing the upset blonde’s back.

“No, it won’t be okay, it won’t!” Fawn shouted through her tears. “With Gale out of commission, there is no way I can compete in the upcoming match! I can’t believe he was so stupid to get himself _injured_ , that stupid swine!” Fawn ran her hands through her hair with frustration. “How dare he! How dare he!!”

“Can you find a new partner to enter the competition with?”

Fawn wrung her hands. “There is no one else available, and the competition is in _two weeks!_ There is no way I can find a suitable partner and be in sync with him so well that we just _mesh_ together right in time for the competition!” A defeated look came over Fawn’s face. “I guess there’s just no helping it. I won’t be able to compete.”

Rylee hated to see her best friend so upset, especially over something she had been so passionate about and had spent so much time and effort on. There was one option that she knew her friend hadn’t bothered to consider, and would hate for her to bring up, but Rylee couldn’t let it go, not if it meant there was a way for her best friend to be able to chase after her dream.

Softly, she spoke. “Fawn… I know you don’t like me bringing it up, but why don’t you ask Travis?”

Fawn gaped at her with disbelief. “Are you out of your mind? _Me_ , ask _Duke Travis?!_ Rylee _Aderyn_ Pritchard, what are you thinking?!!! I can’t ask him!”

“Why not?” Rylee countered. “He’s just as good as a skater as you are--we’ve both seen him on the rink! You’ve even admitted that you were impressed by him! He’s skilled, so you won’t have to worry about the routine all that much, and as for chemistry, well I still recall that one time when the two of you were assigned partners. You were worked great with each other, so why can’t you do it again? It’s not like he’s already entered in the competition with another teammate, is he?”

Fawn’s face flushed as she tried to reason with her best friend. “No, he says he wants to focus on the SATs, which is why he’s been off the ice for the past couple of weeks and why he’s not entered in the competition. What makes you think he’ll change his mind all of a sudden partner with me? Rylee that’s crazy!”

“Do you want me to ask Kyle to ask Duke then?” Rylee offered. “It can be kind of like him paying me back for all the tutoring I do.”

Fawn shook her head, pacing back and forth tensely.

Rylee sighed. “Look, I’m just trying to help, alright? I hate to see all that hard work go down the drain, and though I know you’re not on the best terms with Travis, there’s a possibility that he won’t turn you down, and if that can keep you in the competition, then I want you to think about it, alright?”

Fawn’s tone was flat. “I won’t.”

-

But Rylee knew that she was thinking about it, and when she caught up to the other after school, Fawn admitted as much.

“I asked him during passing period, and he said he’d give me his answer after school.”

Rylee grinned. “See? You just had to give him a chance. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, see you then.”

-

“Duke told me that Fawn asked him to be his partner for the ice skating competition coming up in two weeks,” Kyle told her informatively as she slid into her usual seat across from him. His words caught her attention immediately and she searched his face with rapid eyes.

“Well?” she demanded. “Aren’t you going to tell me?”

He smirked at her eagerness in that cocky, smart-alecky way of his. “I believe his exact words were ‘Sure, why not? Screw the SATs’.”

She beamed at him brightly before she could stop herself. “That’s amazing news!”

He laughed at her happiness. “Yes, it is,” he agreed. “I was tired of him moping around my house all the time anyway.”

Rylee gave Kyle a curious look. “What made him say yes, anyway? I don’t know much about him, but seeing as he’s your friend, I assume he’s just as serious and devoted to his studies as you are?”

Kyle thought about it. “You could say something like that, yeah.” He shrugged. “I think he just misses the ice. It’s his favorite hobby and I catch him practicing sometimes when he’s supposed to be studying for exams.”

“He must love it as much as Fawn does,” Rylee commented thoughtfully.

Kyle nodded. “I think so too. Say, why don’t we go watch their practice tomorrow?”

“Sounds like a smooth plan, Kyle. I think you’re doing well enough in class that we can skip a couple of review sessions, but not too many, since we wouldn’t want you to fall behind again.”

He smirked. “That won’t be a problem.”

-

Some weird stuff has been happening lately. Rylee can’t help but notice that the town is busier than usual and that more things have happened in the past _month_ than it has in all her years of living in the quiet town. On some days, she sees the Mayor going around town with a terrible expression on her face. She catches more glimpses of Henry and his mother as well, friendly with the other citizens, but Rylee finds herself staying away. Whatever they have been up to, they haven’t been subtle about it at all, and Rylee’s survival instincts tell her to stay far, far away from them. They were trouble, after a bigger goal she couldn’t understand, but she knew that nothing good could come out of it.

-

She’s in a forest again.

Running.

Ever since the clock atop of the Storybrooke Library started working again, Rylee has had nothing but strange dreams. They mainly consisted of her in a dark forest running. Always running, at times, glancing behind her to look for an unknown pursuer but never finding out who she was running from.

The wind sings suddenly, coming to life, and she finds a new burst of strength within her.

Somehow, she just _knew_ he coming.

-

The crowd burst into a loud cheer as the winners for the competition was announced. Rylee couldn’t help jumping up and down in excitement from her spot in the stands, Kyle just as excited beside her.

“I knew they would win! I just knew it!” she shouted in happiness.

“Come on, let’s go congratulate them in person!” Kyle grabbed her hand and led her down to the rink alongside the crowd. They found the two resting on a bench next to each other with a crowd of reporters just leaving.

“Fawn, Duke, the two of you were amazing!” Rylee said in full happiness, beaming.

Fawn was too breathless with excitement. “I can’t believe we won!” she told Rylee happily, her head leaning against Duke’s shoulder. She looked up at him then and gave him a huge smile. “Thanks Duke.”

He shrugged. “I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have been in the competition at all, so thank you, Fawn.”

Kyle laughed, his voice merry and bright. “The two of you should get changed, and the four of us can go out and celebrate! This night deserves something _special_.”

-

Rylee couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“You want to us to do a job on _Mr. Gold_?!” she hissed with blazing eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Do you want to _die_?”

Joseph glared at her. “What, are you scared? I don’t think anyone should fear him--he’s just a sad and old crippled man!” He looked to the others for validation, but was mainly focused on Aaron, the new member to join their six-person gang, Joseph’s friend from the time when Rylee broke up with him and the group hadn’t spoken to him.

“I think she’s chicken.” Aaron said. “She’s not really a badass! She doesn’t want you all to find out so she keeps away from Gold because she can’t pull it off!”

Rylee’s cheeks flamed in anger and she tried to hold her anger in check but was failing. “Gold is off-limits because it’s a suicide mission. Did you not hear what happed to Mr. French?! He stole something from Gold and then he ended up in a full body cast! If he does this sort of thing to adults, what makes you think he’ll think differently when dealing with teenagers?! He won’t spare us!”

Joseph snorted. “French was an idiot. After Gold stormed out, I peeked in and saw the wreckage that he dealt. Everything was broken around, there was huge mess everywhere! We’ll be better than that. Stealthy, no one will know we were even there.”

“No, Joseph, we’re not going and that’s final.” Rylee said, putting her foot down on the subject.

“Who said you were even in charge, girlie?” Aaron asked mockingly. “You’re not the boss.”

Rylee’s attention focused onto him and she glared, temper rising steadily. She hated leadership challenges and anything that was said to undermine her place in the group. The quiet four exchanged nervous glances with each other. Did Aaron really just say that?

Her face darkened. “Oh, like you would know anything, Shrub,” she sneered. “Have you ever stolen before? And I don’t mean small stuff such as a chocolate candy bar from the pharmacy. I mean stole from the _mayor_ stolen. _We_ , with _my_ help, pulled it off successfully. I think I’m pretty experienced when it comes to planning out jobs, you little rat.”

Aaron was about to begin an angry retort but Joseph cut him off.

“Hey, hey. Easy there. Rylee, we won’t get caught. We just want to have some fun! A thrill of adventure! You know we only get that kind of high off of the big jobs.”

She gave him a withering look. “We agreed to never to steal from Gold in the beginning! How can you just change your mind like that? It’s practically an unspoken rule!”

Something in Joseph’s expression twisted. “What happened to you Rylee? You used to be fun and have a sense of adventure--now you’re saying we should lie low, and you’ve planned fewer jobs than usual.”

“I just want us all to stay safe-”

“Safe?! Safe is for losers, Rylee!” He studied her. “You’ve changed,” he said, voice quiet. “Is it because you’re hanging around that geek Grayson?”

“Grayson has nothing to do with this,” she said while crossing her arms. “You know I’m only hanging out with him because I have to tutor him for history class. There’s nothing going on between us.”

“Plan this one job and we’ll never talk about Gold or Grayson ever again.”

“Joseph, I said-”

"Come on, Rylee. Please?" He grinned at her in a way that melted her heart and reluctantly she caved in.

“One job.”

-

She knew it had been a terrible idea.

Everything had been fine, at first. They were about to leave when they heard the click of the front door. Gold had returned early and was in a terrible mood.

“Drop it and go,” she quietly ordered. If the pawnbroker caught them with the items in their hands, they would be finished. But if they held nothing, the charge would be less than if they got caught. Quietly, Fawn and Cordelia replaced the relics they had been holding. Blake and Jason were a little more hesitant but at her glare set the objects down. Slowly, they made their way out the back door, when Rylee realized that Joseph and Aaron were nowhere to be seen. She signaled for the group to wait outside for her and then went to find the two idiotic boys.

“Drop it,” she hissed. “We’ve got to go now, Gold is back early.”

“No way, we’re so close!” Aaron hissed back, high off the thrill.

“Keep your voice down!” she hissed and they all froze the sound of the creaking stairs, releasing their breath when they heard a door close.

“The others are already outside waiting for us. Put it back and let’s go.”

“No way, we can pull it off.” Joseph said confidently.

“You should really listen to the girl you know.” The lights flickered on and the three teens jumped back to see Mr. Gold suddenly in front of them. Rylee kept her eyes to the front, and hoped that the four in the forest would see their silhouettes and flee to a farther place for safety. They would be thanking her right about now.

“Mr. Gold. Sorry, we were just leaving,” Rylee said smoothly, trying to appease him.

“And what did you think you were going to do in the first place?” His voice was soft, but Rylee knew better than to think he wasn’t angry.

She saw Aaron open his mouth and knew he was going to make a stupid comment so she cut him off before he could start. “It was a dare Mr. Gold. Just a silly little dare. We were supposed to just sneak in and, and take a spoon back as proof. We’re sorry.”

He studied her carefully. When he spoke, his voice was dangerous. “That’s not a spoon.”

He was referring to solid gold bracelet Joseph was hiding behind his back and the golden comb behind Aaron’s.

“I’m sorry, it was hard to see in the darkness,” Rylee said, trying not to let fear clutter her voice. “We’ll put it back, won’t we, Joseph? Aaron?” she said, nudging his side with her elbow. It didn’t matter if she said their names out loud--Mr. Gold knew everyone in town.

Aaron was less willing to obey her suggestion. “Why should we?” he countered. “You’re just an old man! We’re not scared of you!” He jabbed Joseph's side. “Right, Joseph?”

And the stupid boy was grinning. “Yeah. We’re not afraid of you.”

Rylee wanted to stand there and gape, but there was no time. Quick as lightning, before the pawnbroker could speak, she snatched the items they were holding and took a few steps forward, holding out the items to him. “Don’t mind those two. They’re just being stupid. We’re sorry. You won’t see us again,” she informed him.

He plucked the two golden things from her hand with consideration. “You two boys were very lucky that your fried here is so intelligent. I was having quite the bad day, and I’m afraid things would have gone terribly wrong for you.” He shifted and Rylee’s eyes widened.

“So, you’ll let us go then?” she asked, trying to keep her voice strong.

“Even better.” He gave the three a toothy grin. “I’ll walk you out. In case you get lost.”

They left the house with Mr. Gold behind them, Rylee the last to exit.

“You’re a good storyteller,” Mr. Gold said softly before closing the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone the three teens bolted from the house, running as fast as their legs could carry them. It turned out that Fawn and the others were waiting for them by the fence two blocks down.

“You’re alive!” Fawn said and hugged Rylee tightly.

“What happened?” Blake demanded. “We saw the lights go on and Gold was talking to you, wasn’t he?”

Aaron glared at Rylee. “Yes, we were confronted, but we would have made it out if _this idiot_ here didn’t just return it right to him! We’re way faster than him--we could’ve ran and got away!!”

She rounded on him. “What?!” she demanded. “Are you _kidding me_?! I saved your lives! He had a _gun_ on him, you _imbecile_! I’ll bet anything that he would’ve shot you two in a heartbeat, with the way you were provoking him, and he would’ve claimed it as self-defense since we’re the ones who broke into his house!” she told him angrily. “And what did you think you were going to do with those items anyway? Sell it off for cash? He owns the bloody pawnshop you nit!”

Aaron glared at her but didn’t retort, instead turning to question Jason and Cordelia instead. “Where were you four when we were in trouble?” he demanded angrily. “Why didn’t you cause a distraction so we could get out?”

Rylee’s voice brought his attention back to her. “Don’t blame them. I made them leave when I heard Gold coming in through the door. And it’s a good thing I did, or we would have had a harder time getting out there. This is why I said robbing Gold was a bad idea, and why we’re never going again.” She made eye-contact with every single one of them. “Understand?”

They nodded and she was satisfied.

“Good. Now let’s get out of here.”

-

“Joseph you drunken _brute!_ Get your hands off of me!” Rylee shouted, fighting to keep him off her. They were at his house and what began as a quiet evening turned into a full on argument until they were shouting at each other.

Joseph was still bitter about what happened at Gold’s and the fact she was spending more time with everyone else but him ever since they got back together. He was physically stronger than her, and Rylee would give anything to have her penknife handy, but she had left it downstairs on the couch in her purse. They had migrated upstairs to his bedroom to make out, but somehow they deviated away from that goal. And it didn’t help that his bedroom was so spacious and anything Rylee could ever use as a weapon was too far from reach.

“Don’t order me around you bitch!” he shouted and slapped her hard across the face. “I’m sick and tired of you ordering me around Rylee!” His breath stank of alcohol. “I’m the one in charge, I’m the one with the power! But you. Under. Mine. Me. All. The. Time!”

Rylee’s body shook with the blows he dealt to her with every word out of his mouth. She felt sick.

He was strong, physically stronger than her, but she had always counted on their love for each other to prevent something like _this_ from happening to her. It seemed she had been wrong.

“Why are you hanging out with other people so much anyway? You’re _my_ girlfriend-- you should be with _me!_ ”

Her arm was going to bruise, with the way he was grabbing her and shaking her about. She wanted to speak back, but she would only get slapped again.

“I should teach you a lesson.”

His voice took on a different tone, and there was a hard glint in his eye. Her heart raced, immediately jumping to one conclusion. She found renewed strength in her limbs despite the pain and struggled against him.

“Joseph, no. Let me go,” she pleaded and he scowled.

“What did I say about ordering me around?”

He was on her, then, lips everywhere, hands roaming her form and her struggling beneath him to no avail. When he moved slightly to get a better grip, she took her chance and kicked him as hard she could, twisting away when he broke away, howling in pain. Quickly she ran out of the room and dashed down the stairs, grabbing her purse and shoving her feet into her shoes. Joseph appeared and grabbed her, throwing her across the room like she weighed little less than a doll. Rylee’s bones ached, but she forced herself to get up. He was making his way toward her, and spotting the lamp on the small table she grabbed it and threw it at him. The force of it wasn’t enough to take him out, but it was enough to hinder him and she ran past him and out the front door as fast as she could without looking back.

She didn’t want to admit it, but she was scared of Joseph, and what might have happened to her if he had been successful. She slammed into someone turning the corner and fell onto the cement, stunned.

“Sorry about that,” a familiar voice said, offering a hand to her. “Are you alright?”

She wanted to weep with relief. It wasn’t Joseph. “I’m fine, Duke. Thank you.”

He looked at her worriedly. “What happened to you?”

Her eyes flicked behind her. “I got into an argument with Joseph,” she admitted.

“Do you want to go to the Sheriff? You should probably get it reported before he does.”

She nodded but her stomach was still jittery. “I will.” Farther away she heard the start of an engine and paled. “Duke, I think he’s coming in his car. Can I stay at your place for the moment?”

Duke didn’t hesitate to agree and took her hand. “Come on, we’ll go through this shortcut. He can’t drive a car through the woods.”

They arrived at the older boy’s house intact. “Thank you so much,” Rylee told him gratefully as she stepped into the house. “I appreciate it a lot.”

“Duke? Did you get the pizza yet?”

Rylee spun around to find herself staring straight at Kyle. The words died on his lips when he saw the state she was in and he crossed the room to immediately stand by her side.

“What happened? Who did this to you?” He demanded, anger boiling behind his normally calm and cheerful eyes.

She shook her head, feeling drained. “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said, and allowed Kyle to help her have a seat onto the couch in the living room.

Duke tossed her a blanket and she tucked it around herself gratefully while Kyle and Duke had a quiet, but heated argument in the back. They returned soon enough, with more blankets and spare set of clothes. “Thank you,” she told them.

“You can stay the night if you need to. You know that, right?” Kyle told her gently. “We won’t hurt you.”

She nodded. “I’ll take your offer if you don’t mind. I don’t think I want to go home just yet. Let me call my aunt now, okay?”

“Sure.” Kyle stood up and left her alone. She pulled out her phone and dialed for her aunt, letting her know that she would be staying over at her friend’s house. Then she called Fawn to let her know that she got into an argument with Joseph, and under no circumstances was she to talk with him in any way, or disclose her current location.

“That bad?” Fawn whispered with some shock.

“Yeah. Do me that favor?”

“Of course. I’ll drop by in the morning with some of your stuff.”

“Thanks, Fawn. You’re a real bell.”

“Call the Sheriff, Rylee. She would understand.”

“Yeah, I will.”

She hung up and was startled to see that Duke had entered the room.

“You should probably call the Sheriff and let her know what happened,” he advised her. “And if you’re worried about Kyle overhearing, don’t worry, he’s still upstairs finding you pillows.”

“Thanks for letting me stay overnight Duke. Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. My uncle’s out with his friends and doesn’t mind who comes over as long as they don’t make a mess.”

“Okay.” She waited for him to leave before she dialed the Sheriff’s number. Rylee bit her lip with some worry. How could she explain her situation? Would Sheriff Swan even believe her? At this moment, Rylee missed Sheriff Graham. He was a good person, and he would have believed her, even with her semi-delinquent status.

“Hello, Sheriff’s office, Ruby speaking.”

Rylee was startled. “Ruby? Since when do you work at the Sheriff’s office?”

“Rylee? Hi! No, I don’t work here. I mean, I used to, but it didn’t work out. Actually, I’m here to drop off some pies for Emma, and then the phone rang, and I couldn’t resist answering. What’s up girl?”

“Ruby… I’m… in trouble, kinda,” Rylee admitted, feeling relief to hear the familiar voice. Ruby was no Sheriff Graham, but she was more of a friend than Sheriff Swan, who was still a stranger in the teenager’s eyes.

“Rylee, what happened? Do you want to talk with Emma?” Ruby’s voice was laced with concern.

“Can I just talk with you?”

“Yeah, no problem! Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I just… I got into an argument with Joseph earlier and he assaulted me.” Her voice was quiet. “He, he almost raped me, Ruby. In our fight, it was at his house, and I threw a lot of things around. I think I injured him a little, but he hurt me more than I hurt him.”

“Where are you now?”

“I’m staying at a friend’s house. But earlier, I heard him start his car and I’m afraid that he might cause my aunt and Fawn trouble. Do you think you could check on them for me? They know I won’t be home tonight, but he doesn’t.”

“Don’t worry, I believe you.” Ruby told her reassuringly. “Everything will be okay, I promise. I’m on your side.”

“Thanks Ruby.”

“You’re welcome, Rylee.”

After she hung up, she got changed into the spare clothes they had offered her. She hadn’t want to talk about what just happened, so the three of them just sat together on the couch and watched silly animated movies, like Peter Pan and the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. When Rylee went to sleep that night, she felt safe, and her heartbeat had resumed quite a normal rhythm, no longer frantic at all.

-

After that incident she made sure to steer clear out of Joseph’s way, even though he frequently sought her out in an attempt to apologize. Even if he was sorry, there was a deep fear that something like that would happen again, and Rylee didn’t like to think that she wouldn’t be so lucky the second time around. It had been easy to avoid Joseph for a couple of days since he was suspended from school on the Sheriff’s order for disturbing the peace, driving while under the influence, and for physical assault. His parents bailed him out, of course, but his record would be further tarnished.

It wasn’t a surprise when the group split. While Aaron still stuck by Joseph, and Fawn was glued to her hip, Cordelia, Blake, and Jason formed their own little circle. She didn’t blame them for not wanting to be caught in the middle of her arguments with Joseph, especially since he proved to be more volatile than ever. Really, it was better for everyone, but Rylee was still sorry to see them go. They had been friends for the longest time, after all.

If it was any consolation, they would still stick beside her if she needed them to, especially in choosing between her and Joseph.

“You’ve saved us countless times with your plans and quick thinking, not to mention that one time at Gold’s,” Jason told her.

“Joseph has always been terrible, and it was a wonder you didn’t get rid of him sooner.” Cordelia added.

“We don’t want to deal with the drama, but if you need us, all you should do is call,” Blake said seriously. “We’ll be there.”

So her old crowd broke up, and she joined in a new one, unsurprisingly consisting of Kyle, Duke, and their honor society crowd. She worried that Fawn would be upset with her, but the blonde was now on quite friendly terms with Duke after the ice skating competition, so she wasn’t all that upset about it.

“Besides, you’re my best friend. Where you go I go as well.”

-

One afternoon on her way back from the store Joseph found her and begged her for the chance to apologize, offering her gifts of flowers and chocolate but she declined.

“Please, Rylee. I have this awful guilt. At least hear me out, and I won’t bother you again.”

So she listened to him and they tried to work out their differences.

“I’m sorry Rylee. I didn’t want to lose you.”

“I forgive you, but we can’t be together anymore Joseph. I hope you understand.”

He looked pained. “But I apologized properly! I even bought these for you!” he lifted his arm to indicate the bags hanging on them.

“I know, and I’m sorry, but I can’t trust you, okay? I’ll forgive you, but I can’t trust you and I’m sorry about that.” She told him, stepping back instinctively as he took a step forward.

“Joseph, you said we were just going to talk.” Rylee said, standing her ground and fingering the penknife she had in her pocket. “We’ve finished our conversation, so I think I’ll be going now.”

“Rylee wait-” he said and grabbed her arm when she walked past him. She was about to shove him off her when suddenly a wave of wind hit them both and they momentarily stiffened.

Wendy was confused. She didn’t know where she was or what was going on, but one thing she knew was that the boy gripping her arm was not Peter. Seeing him dizzy, she pushed him and his grip on her slackened before falling away completely. She was off in an instant, running away from the white buildings and gray surroundings, headed straight into the familiar foliage of the green-and-black of the trees. Once she was a couple of feet in, she sank down on the floor and leaned back against a tree, allowing the confusion of a moment ago to seep in fully so she could process it.

_I was a different girl here. I was living a life… the life I wasn’t able to in Neverland… Tink was my best friend. Peter… he’s here too. And Felix. I talked to them both. We were friends._

The memories of her false life were disorienting but Wendy bore with it, trying to make sense of what she had experienced. When she felt calmer, she opened her eyes.

And who would be there but him?

He was leaning against the tree opposite her, watching.

“Hullo Wendy-bird,” he said calmly when he saw her open her eyes. “Did you miss me?”

“Hello Peter,” she responded, her voice quiet but audible in the silence of the woods. “It’s been a while.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written: December 6th – 8th, 2013


End file.
